Jatiya Sangsad Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury called for forming a national committee with Members of Parliament of concerned constituencies to adopt and implement plans for improving the lot of people living in shoal areas. “We want inclusive development plans, from which any particular class or region is not excluded,” she said speaking at the inaugural ceremony of first national shoal (char) conference at Krishibid Institute in the capital yesterday, reports BSS.
The speaker urged the members of parliament to work together to ensure overall development in shoal areas by including the needs of those areas in the government’s balanced development plans.
Shirin said the government has a plan to ensure equal development in all areas of the country. Yet, plans should be taken to resolve problems after identifying those in particular areas, she added.
She said there is an allocation of Tk 50 crore in the proposed budget for 2015-16 for the development of shoal areas.
She suggested reducing discriminations along with poverty alleviation to attain Millennium Development Goals through sustainable development.
Khondaker Ibrahim Kha­led, former Bangladesh Bank deputy governor, urged the government agencies and 80 local and foreign NGOs working in shoal areas to form a national committee to work together.
The main reason of inconvenience of the shoal people is their isolation, he said, adding that this isolation is not expected in the era of modern information
technology.
He demanded allocation of 10 percent quota for shoal people in employment. About 1,200 people, including public representatives, researchers, development workers and representatives of shoal people took part in the conference.
Presided over by Khonda­ker Ibrahim Khaled, the inaugural session of the conference was also addressed by Concern World Wide Bangladesh Country Director AKM Musa, Councilor of Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and Head of Development Cooperation Priya Pawel, All-Party Parliamentary Group General Secretary Shishir Shil, and shoal­ people’s
representative Manindra Nath Roy.